Should I ship furniture to my home in Japan or buy it there? Customs, voltage and fit

Three questions to ask first

Most decisions become clear once you answer three things for each piece.

• Size: will it pass the building entrance, the lift, the corridor and the door of the apartment, and does it suit the room once inside?
• Electricity: does it have a plug, a motor, a light or a battery charger? If so, Japan's 100 V supply decides much of the answer.
• Timing: are you moving to Japan, or furnishing a second home while you live elsewhere? The customs treatment can differ.

Customs: what the official guidance says

Japan Customs explains that household effects for home relocation can be cleared by simplified procedures. It defines these as the personal effects and professional equipment of a person, or their family, who enters Japan to relocate their residence. For people who have been abroad for more than one year, or who plan to stay in Japan for more than one year, articles imported within six months of entry are free of duty, provided they are declared correctly.

For goods sent separately, Customs asks you to submit two copies of the Declaration of Accompanied Articles and Unaccompanied Articles when you arrive, keep the copy it stamps and returns, and mark parcels, the customs notice and the invoice "unaccompanied baggage". Unaccompanied articles are in principle limited to those cleared within six months of your entry. Customs also notes that commercial cargo or costly goods sent as unaccompanied articles may require the same procedures as general cargo.

Many owners we write for keep their main home abroad and visit Japan a few times a year. The household-effects relief is written around relocation of residence, so do not assume it applies to furniture for a second home. If it does not, the shipment goes through general import procedures: Japan Customs states that goods imported into Japan are subject to customs duty and consumption tax, with the duty rate set by the item's tariff classification. Customs offers advance classification rulings, so you can ask about a specific piece before you ship it.

Who to ask: the Customs Counselor at the nearest customs office (Japan Customs lists them, including Tokyo, Haneda, Narita and Yokohama), and the customs broker your shipping company uses. This section is general information only. For a specific shipment, ask Japan Customs, your customs broker or the relevant office.

Voltage, plugs and anything electrical

The Japan National Tourism Organization states that Japan's supply is 100 V AC, at 50 Hz in the east, including Tokyo, and 60 Hz in the west, including Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka. Furniture with electrical parts, such as lamps, motorised recliners, adjustable beds, heated seats or built-in chargers, needs to be rated for 100 V and, ideally, 50/60 Hz.

Read the rating label on each item and on any separate power unit. A label reading 100–240 V is usually fine with a plug adaptor. A label reading 220–240 V only usually is not. If a lamp or fitting would need wiring into the walls or ceiling, that is electrical work for a licensed electrician in Japan.

Electrical products covered by the Electrical Appliances and Materials Safety Act must carry the PSE mark when sold in Japan; METI states that sale or display for sale without it is prohibited. That matters later too: an unlabelled item brought from abroad cannot simply be sold in Japan when you change the interior. Our article on lighting a home in Japan covers this in more detail.

Lifts, corridors and stairs

In Tokyo, the lift and the turn in the corridor decide more than the size of the room. Before you ship a sofa, a dining table or a large cabinet, measure the whole route.

• Building entrance and any step or ramp.
• Lift door width and height, and the inside depth and diagonal of the car. Ask the management office whether the lift has a rear compartment or a removable panel for long items.
• Corridor width at each turn, and the height of any beams.
• The apartment's front door and the genkan (entry hall), which is often the tightest point.
• Internal doors and the turn into the room where the piece will go.
• Whether the building allows delivery by crane or through a balcony, and whether deliveries need notice, lift protection or set hours.

Buying in Japan instead

Buying in Japan solves most of the electrical questions and many of the size questions. Furniture made and sold in Japan is generally sized with Japanese apartments in mind, and shops that deliver in Tokyo are used to building rules; ask each one how it handles delivery notices and lift protection. Lighting and appliances sold in Japan are made for 100 V and should carry the PSE mark.

It also opens a wide field of Japanese-made pieces: solid wood furniture from regional workshops, washi lighting, ceramics and textiles. A Japandi home built from pieces made in Japan tends to suit the light and proportions of a Japanese room. Lead times for made-to-order pieces vary by maker, so ask each one.

Shipping still makes sense for pieces with a story, antiques you already own, art, and furniture you cannot replace. Wood that has lived in a dry climate may move in Tokyo's humid summers; the Japan Meteorological Agency's normals for central Tokyo (1991–2020) put average relative humidity at 75 percent in June and 76 percent in July. Give solid wood pieces time to settle and keep the rooms ventilated.

A simple comparison

Use this as a starting point for each piece, then confirm costs and rules for your case.

• Ship: furniture you already own and want to keep, antiques, art, rugs and pieces with no equivalent in Japan.
• Buy in Japan: lamps and anything with a plug or motor, mattresses and large sofas, and anything that may not fit the lift.
• Either: small tables, chairs and storage, depending on cost, lead time and how much you want the home to feel like the one you already live in.
• Before shipping: get a written quote that states who handles customs clearance, whether duty and consumption tax are included, and how delivery into the building will work.